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Receives Panel-Judged and People’s Voice Awards

May 16, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC — The global web community has named the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Remember Me? project the best cultural institution website of the year. The site won two awards in its category, one given by a panel of Webby Award judges and the other—the People’s Voice Award—determined by popular vote. The site was designed and built by Blue State Digital.

The persecution of Jews and others by the Nazis and their collaborators left millions of children displaced, orphaned, or otherwise separated from their families. The Museum created the Remember Me? website to enlist the public’s help in identifying more than 1,000 photographs taken of refugee children after World War II. By publicizing these images—of Jewish and non-Jewish victims of Nazism—the Museum is piecing together information about the wartime and postwar experiences of these children. The project can be found at ushmm.org/rememberme.

Since its launch in March 2011, Remember Me? has led to the identification of more than 330 of the 1,100 children on the site. Holocaust survivors, their family members, and people from around the world have visited the site to contribute information, identify individuals, or simply bear witness to what happened to the youngest victims of the Holocaust.

“We are excited that the site gained recognition and hope that more people from around the world visit it and help us identify the remaining photos of these children,” says project director Dr. Lisa Pearl. “We are thankful to all those who have already contributed information, and we are extremely grateful to all of the survivors and family members who have shared their personal stories with us so that this history will be preserved forever.”

This year, more than 1.25 million votes were cast by people around the world for their favorite sites, videos, ads, and mobile sites and apps in the Webby People’s Voice Awards. A list of both the Webby Award and People’s Voice Webby Award winners can be found at webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=16.

The Museum will be honored at the live online broadcast of the Webby Awards from New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Monday, May 21, 2012. The following day, fans will be able to watch the Webby Awards at webbyawards.com and on the Webby Awards Facebook page at facebook.com/thewebbyawards.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, the Webby Awards are the leading international awards honoring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising and media, online film and video, and mobile sites and apps. The Webbies are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 750-person judging academy whose members include Martha Stewart, film director Darren Aronofsky, R/GA chairman and CEO Bob Greenberg, David Bowie, Arianna Huffington, and Twitter’s Biz Stone.

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanent place on the National Mall, and its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors. For more information, visit ushmm.org.

About the Webby Awards

Established in 1996 and hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, the Webby Awards are the leading international awards honoring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising and media, online film and video, and mobile sites and apps. This year’s 16th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and partners include AOL, Aquent, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Ford, Dentyne, Facebook, MLB Advanced Media, Rackspace Hosting, LBi, Buddy Media, YouTube, HP, USA Today, Business Insider, 2advanced.Net, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Time Out New York, and Guardian News and Media.